It is part of a broader plan by the university to reposition itself and build its profile as an institution of high scholarship and research, with an international reputation.

As a first step, it is changing the name by which it is known and bringing to an end the days when it was referred to variously as Maynooth, NUIM or its more official short form NUI Maynooth.

None of its former names included the word "university" and there was concern that they lacked any meaning. The name change, which coincides with the start of the new academic year, also sees the roll-out of a revised crest that incorporates some minor changes, although the core elements and colours remain the same

Maynooth University President Professor Philip Nolan said it was "important that we project a clear and confident image of ourselves, nationally and internationally.

"Our problem was that we were known by a variety of different names and our short-form name, NUI Maynooth did not have a very strong impact, nationally or internationally."

Maynooth University is one of four constituent colleges of the National University of Ireland (NUI), and the new name doesn't mean any break from the NUI. Other members of the NUI family are University College Dublin (UCD), NUI Galway (NUIG) and University College Cork (UCC).

The new logo for the college incorporates the words Maynooth University as well as National University of Ireland Maynooth, in a smaller typeface.

Strategic

The name change is part of a strategic plan aimed at boosting student numbers to over 10,000, with a longer-term goal of 15,000 by 2025.

Reforms planned at the university will see a major overhaul in course offerings and in teaching and learning.

From September 2015, Maynooth will put a new focus on developing core skills, such as communication and critical thinking, in first year students.

From 2015, first years will also have the opportunity to study a range of new modules - including music and the history of science - outside their core study area.

More far-reaching reforms will be introduced in September 2016, when Maynooth unveils a complete overhaul of its courses, allowing students unlimited flexibility in their subject combinations.

Those changes will be linked to a reduction in the number of entry routes for students, from about 40 to 20 or less by 2017, with students applying for generic programmes that offer broad internal choices.

The new curriculum will break down traditional boundaries between arts/ humanities and science/engineering and students will be able to mix, for instance, physics and philosophy, geography and biology and anthropology and computing.

Professor Nolan said there was a demand for graduates with such skills mixes, with technology firms, for instance, seeking staff not only with computing expertise.